One Kingdom's an oddity in so many ways: it's a book of nonfiction that dwells on myth, story, and superstition as much science; it waxes personal and philosophical; it asks more questions than it answers; it has black-and-white photographs in a Technicolor world.

The adult market would tag it "creative" nonfiction, but I don't know that we really acknowledge that category in our market (feeling too keenly, perhaps, our responsibility to young readers...to presenting facts impartially?)

So I wasn't sure how it would be received. The feedback's been great, though, and it was selected as an ALA Best Book and for an ASPCA Henry Bergh Award. It's been beyond gratifying to find that kind of support for my first nonfiction project, especially for a book as difficult to classify as this one. It gave me the courage to try again.

As both a reader and an editor, I'm drawn to the place where popular/genre and literary intersect, and these writers, great stylists and masters of the weird, really delivered. For me, anthologies are an excuse to invite a bunch of writers I admire out to play. It's like throwing a party, only you don't have to clean your house first or empty ashtrays.

What were the challenges (literary, research, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?

These authors are all such pros; they made my job easy. I try to include a mix of established names and newer or lesser-known voices, male-female, North American/British/Australian, etc. These are publishing considerations you need to weigh, but there's chemical equation or tally running through my head, both when I set out and as people begin to accept or decline the invitation to contribute. It's all pretty intuitive, and there are always writers I wish I could have invited, or realize I should have invited, or would have invited IF...

Mostly I'm motivated by curiosity. What happens when you put Neil Gaiman and Joan Aiken together in the same book? How is this author going to interpret "undead" in relation to that one?

What challenges are inherent in putting together an anthology?

You set out with all these variables in mind, but in the end, the challenge and the fun come of not knowing where you'll end up. You can try and predict the outcome, take an educated guess based on your knowledge of the various contributors', their work to date, their interests. But in the end these are artists and storytellers, and they're going to surprise you. I've been nothing but happily surprised, but that doesn't mean you don't suffer nerves along the way.

Some anthologists harvest from the canon, take what's already out there and republish it in exciting new combinations. I see the appeal of that. But for me what makes these books worth doing is the same thing that makes them a little unnerving to do: when you solicit an original story, you just don't know what you're going to get. And you can't predict the overall chemistry. Call me a thrill seeker, but I've also been fortunate.

How do you explain the wide appeal of Gothic fantasy/horror?

I know you've said that growing up is "intrinsically horrific," and I think that's true. Extremity's the norm for many young adults. It's an intense time. If you're ever going to fathom blood lust, or feel like a ghost in your own skin, or harbor a monster in your thoughts, it's circa age sixteen. And no matter how happy or well-balanced you are at home or at school, you're forging an adult identity in a sometimes-fearful world.

At the very least you're incurably busy and possibly bored with preparing for a grown-up life you can't quite imagine yet, and this stuff is fun. It's extreme. It grabs you by the collar. It makes your pulse race and pulls you off center in a way you can control...because you can close the book. You can right your world again. (A feat we can't always manage in the workaday world.)

What can your readers look forward to next?

I head to Namibia at the end of the month [note: she's currently there] to photograph animals for a collection of acrostic poetry about African wildlife. This is exciting for me on so many levels, not least because I get the chance to illustrate someone else's work, layer onto another writer's vision. It's a bit like being an editor, I guess, which is my day job. These things are all related, and the more I experiment with different roles, the more I value the creative process, the collaborative process, from whatever angle.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Donna Jo Napoli's unlikely journey to literary success: interview by Linda M. Castellitto from BookPage. Here's a sneak peek: "I so enjoy giving my readers something to taste and hear and feel," Napoli says. "I pay a lot of attention to the senses."WOW! Talks to Tracy Grand of JacketFlap.com by Angela Mackintosh from WOW! Women on Writing. Here's a sneak peek: "If someone emails me and says they wish I had such and such feature on the JacketFlap, and I think it will be useful and interesting to others in the industry, I typically try to find a way to incorporate it into the site." Read a Cynsations interview with Tracy.

Uninvited by Amanda Marrone at the YA Authors Cafe. Here's a sneak peek: "I researched vampire facts—I was always a vampire lover, but I wanted to dig deeper. I found some fun things I didn’t know—you can kill a vampire by immersing it in water, or hire a Bulgarian sorcerer to do it for you!" Read a Cynsations interview with Amanda.

"Submission No-nos and Yes-yeses" with Nadia Cornier: "literary Agent Nadia Cormier talks with us about how to create submissions that make an agent sit up and take notice, and how to spot common submission mistakes" 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. CST Nov. 8. To send questions, email Jan (alternate). To hear Nadia. Attend the chat at ICL.

The Skinny on Agents by Jan Fields from the Institute of Children's Literature. Note: introductory overview to who needs an agent, how to find one, and how much it costs. See also my related links.

Austin SCBWI offers a great line-up for its April 26th conference. Speakers include: author and editor Deborah Noyes Wayshak from Candlewick Press (author-editor interview); Alvina Ling from Little Brown (personal blog); agent Erin Murphy (interview from Olswanger.com)(interview by Pam Mingle from Kite Tales, Rocky Mountain chapter, SCBWI); artist's agent Christina Tugeau; and writing professor Peter Jacobi. According to RA Tim Crow, "Not only will critiques and pitches be available for an additional fee, but we are expanding the number of slots available this year, so you can have a second or third manuscript critiqued." See details at Austin SCBWI (scroll to the bottom of the page); registration opens Nov. 1.

Attention, Austinites! Greg and I will be reading Santa Knows, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman (Dutton, 2006) at 1 p.m. Dec. 2 at Barnes & Noble Westlake. From the flap copy: "Who knows if you've been naughty or nice? Santa knows, that's who! But not everyone believes in Santa Claus. Consider Alfie F. Snorklepuss. He thinks he's proven that Santa Claus doesn't exist. Alfie thinks there is no way that Santa could do all the things he's supposed to, like deliver billions of presents all over the world in one night or know what every little kid wants. When Alfie starts spreading the word that there is no Santa Claus, he makes someone very unhappy: his little sister Noelle. And so Noelle turns to the only person who can help her. The one person Alfie thinks doesn't exist: Santa Claus. Ho, ho, ho!" Visit www.santa-knows.com!

In a new interview with me she inquires: "Quincie has some very unique friends and acquaintances in Tantalize. If you had the ability to turn into any one of them, which would you choose, and why?" Read my answer and the whole interview.

From now until midnight Oct. 31st, stop by Darque Reviews and share what your plans are for Halloween for a chance to win one of two copies of Tantalize. To double your odds, share the title and author of your favorite paranormal read. Be sure to check back at Darque Reviews on Nov. 1st for the winners!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Congratulations on the publication of Mama's Saris (Little Brown, 2007)! What was your initial inspiration for writing this book?

As I write in my author's note, the colors, patterns, and fabrics of my mother's saris fascinated me. I wrote Mama's Saris after realizing that my own obsession with my mother's fancy clothes was not unique. It seemed as if each of my female friends--regardless of ethnicity or age--remembers being enthralled by her own mother's "grown-up clothes."

What was the timeline from spark to publication, and what were the major events along the way?

I finished the first draft of Mama's Saris in the summer of 2002 on a family hiking trip. I wrote the final two lines of the text in my notebook while sitting on a boulder in the middle of the Delaware River. I revisited the manuscript years later, in early 2004, and spent an entire weekend revising the text. Several weeks later, I sent the manuscript off to Little, Brown. (I had worked in publishing for several years after college and used my professional network to find the right editor.)

A few months and many revisions later, I got "the call." Mama's Saris had been purchased!

Elena Gomez worked on the illustrations for well over a year, and I had the opportunity to see her vision of the book from the sketch stage. Through my editor, she was open to suggestions regarding cultural appropriateness and cultural accuracy. She even asked for photographs of my wedding festivities for reference.

It has taken a while for the book to hit shelves, but I am thrilled to share it with the world.

What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, logistical) in bringing it to life?

Though the text really resonated with Elena, her initial sketches featured all the female characters in the book with their heads covered with the pallus of their saris. In many South Asian subcultures, women do cover their heads as a sign of modesty or respect. However, this wasn't the case in the family I had imagined in Mama's Saris. The family in my head had a mother who lived in suburbia and wore "gray sweaters and brown pants" to work everyday. As I said, Elena was receptive to my thoughts and we found a solution that worked for both of us.

What did Elena Gomez's illustrations bring to your text?

Where do I begin? When I was shown Elena's final art, I was struck that her visual interpretation of Nanima (the narrator's maternal grandmother) was identical to the vision of Nanima that I had in my head while I was writing. We were really on the same proverbial wavelength.

Casting a wider net, could you tell us about your other writing?

I have edited a non-fiction anthology, Under Her Skin: How Girls Experience Race in America (Seal Press, 2004). The collection of essays explores through a child's lens, the sometimes savage, sometimes innocent, and always complex, ways in which race shapes American lives and families. I am deeply interested in using memoir and storytelling to discuss and deconstruct the idea of race and continue to use the book to conduct writing workshops for young adults on this topic.

Well, it's so much better than when I was a child! Growing up, I would search library shelves in the hopes of finding a character "like me". I never had much luck. Elementary school teachers and librarians would hand me copies of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling in the hopes I would identify with the little Indian boy raised by animals.

I didn't.

Today, however, kids scouring libraries and bookstores today will find a good handful of realistic contemporary stories, set in specific South Asian or South Asian diasporic cultures, as well as a South Asian literary magazine for children, Kahani.

It seems to be heading in the right direction.

What improvements have we seen?

Over the past few years, I've seen a maturation of themes. No longer are authors writing about familiar--and often tired--immigrant tropes. Marina Budhos' Ask Me No Questions (Atheneum, 2006)(author interview) details the experiences of two Bangladeshi teenagers, Nadira and Aisha, whose father is arrested and detained at the Canadian border. Mitali Perkins' First Daughter series (Dutton, 2006, 2007) features feisty blogger Sameera Righton, the nation's first Muslim-American First Daughter. Uma Krishnaswami's picture book, Bringing Asha Home (Lee & Low, 2006)(author interview) is about a biracial Indian-American boy who finds his own way to bond with his sister while his family awaits her adoption from India.

What challenges exist, and how can we address them?

As you know, the CCBC compiles annual statistics on the number of books published annually by and about people of color. Over the years, the numbers have grown, but multicultural literature (most generally) still represents a small percentage of the overall number of books published for children and teenagers.

I wish I knew how we might address these challenges. I think once people of various races/ethnicities/cultures become a critical mass in the publishing industry (editing, publicity, sales, marketing, bookselling), more of these stories will make it to the bookshelf.

What advice do you have for beginning writers?

Nothing earth-shattering here. Read in your genre and find a friend to read your writing who can provide you with constructive, encouraging feedback. Don't let rejection get your down; this business is full of it.

How about picture book writers in particular?

Read lots of picture books and understand the constraints of the container. Unless you are an illustrator, know that process is very collaborative. Realize that picture books aren't "easy to write" because they are shorter; the genre presents its own challenges and it's difficult to get it right.

What can your readers look forward to next?

I am slowly working on a YA novel. I am honing my presentation, "More Than Monkeys, Maharajahs and Mangoes: An Overview of South Asian Literature for Kids," so that I can provide more teachers and librarians with an overview of representations of South Asia and the South Asian diaspora in children's literature and tools to select authentic books for their classrooms and communities.

I am researching the lives of two American writers: Dhan Gopal Mukerji (1890-1936) and Jean Bothwell (?-1977) with the hopes to publish biographical profiles of both. Mukerji is considered to be the first successful Indian American man of letters in the United States and, in 1928, was awarded the Newbery Medal by the American Library Association for his middle-grade novel, Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon. He is the only South Asian American to have won the prestigious award. Bothwell, a Methodist missionary who worked in India, wrote over 60 fiction and nonfiction books focused on that country.

What do you do when you're not writing?

When I am not writing, I can be found reading, watching past episodes of "The Office," noshing my way through New York City with my husband or volunteering for Girls Write Now, a wonderful NYC-based non-profit which pairs teenage girls with professional writers in one-on-one mentoring relationships.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Here's a sneak peek: "I love screwball comedies, comedies of manners, comic romances, all that stuff. So I wanted to write a story with an impoverished, independent young woman trying to make her way in the world. I also wanted to spoof the vampire conventions of these angsty, supernatural creatures. My vamps know how to throw a party, laugh, and fall in love."

National Geographic is sponsoring a Planet Contest in conjunction with David Aguilar's books. The contest encourages kids to create a mnemonic or slogan to help remember the order of the (now 11) planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris; and the winning entry will be included in David's spring 2008 book, 11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System.

Thank you to Mathews School in Austin and BookPeople for your hospitality and enthusiasm at my school visit last Thursday! After my presentation, inspired by the fictional vampire restaurant in Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007), students broke into groups to devise menus for fictional restaurants catering to the following audiences: werewolves, werecats, werearmadillos, wereoppossums, and were-turkey-vultures (the types of shape-shifters featured in the novel). The results were inspired (and a little creepy!).

As you know if you've been visiting any children's book blogs for the past few weeks, Robert's Snow is an online auction that benefits Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. More than 200 children's book illustrators have created art on individual snowflake-shaped wooden templates. The snowflakes will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to cancer research. You can view all of the 2007 snowflakes here.

Jules and Eisha from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast have found a way for bloggers to help with this effort, by blogging about individual illustrators and their snowflakes. The idea is to drive traffic to the Robert's Snow site so that many snowflakes will be sold, and much money raised to fight cancer. The illustrator profiles have been wonderful so far--diverse and creative and colorful. And there are lots more to go.

Here's the schedule for Week 3, which starts Monday. As previously, this early schedule links to the participating blogs, instead of to the individual posts. You can find links to the posts themselves, and any last-minute updates, each morning at 7-Imp. Jules and Eisha have also set up a special page at 7-Imp containing a comprehensive list of links to the profiles posted so far. Also not to be missed is Kris Bordessa's post summarizing snowflake-related contests to date over at Paradise Found.

Please take time out to visit all of these blogs, and read about these fabulous illustrators. And, if you're so inclined, think about bidding for a snowflake in the Robert's Snow auction. Each snowflake makes a unique gift (for yourself or for someone else), and supports an important cause.

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people's awareness about Robert's Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert's Snow 2007 a resounding success.

About

New York Times & Publishers Weekly best-selling, award-winning author the Tantalize series, the Feral series and other critically acclaimed fiction for young readers. MFA Faculty, Vermont College of Fine Arts. Board member, We Need Diverse Books. Ohonvyetv!